It's Hot

Okay....so we don't post too many narratives on here, so let us know if you appreciate this one!

The other day, at the dinner table, Aleia was commenting over and over again that her dinner was hot. This continued even after we put hers in the freezer for a couple minutes, and she even blew on each bite before putting it on her mouth. Having tested the food ourselves, Dixie and I both determined that the food was in fact NOT hot, and probably would have been too cold for either of our tastes.

So, after yet another "It's hot dad" comment, I did what any other quick-thinking dad would do: I pulled in a "your mom" comment. So, here is the dialog that ensued:

Me, to Aleia: "Your mom's hot!"

Aleia, after touching Dixie on the arm: "Nooooo, mommy's not hot."

Dixie: "Aleia, hot is also another way to say 'beautiful,' so when a boy says you're hot, it means you're really beautiful."

Aleia: "I'm hot!"

A VERY BIG thank you to Dale and Danni Martinez who took these wonderful photos of Macie for us...they are good friends of ours and we really appreciate them! They also offer their photography services to the general public for a reasonable cost, so if anyone is interested, let us know and we'll have Dale get in touch with you!

Pleasure versus Happiness

I rediscovered a piece of wisdom today, and typed it up for my own personal use. I thought others might find it enlightening as well.

Pleasure versus Happiness -“The present is an age of pleasure-seeking, and men are losing their sanity in the mad rush for sensations that do but excite and disappoint. In this day of counterfeits, adulterations, and base imitations, the devil is busier than he has ever been in the course of human history, in the manufacture of pleasures, both old and new; and these he offers for sale in most attractive fashion, falsely labeled, Happiness. In this soul-destroying craft he is without a peer; he has centuries of experience and practice, and by his skill he controls the market. He has learned the tricks of the trade, and knows well how to catch the eye and arouse the desire of his customers. He puts up the stuff in bright-colored packages, tied with tinsel string and tassel; and crowds flock to his bargain counters, hustling and crushing one another in their frenzy to buy. “
“Follow one of the purchasers as he goes off gloatingly with his gaudy packet, and watch him as he opens it. What finds he inside the gilded wrapping? He has expected fragrant happiness, but uncovers only an inferior brand of pleasure, the stench of which is nauseating.”
“Happiness includes all that is really desirable and of true worth in pleasure, and much besides. Happiness is genuine gold, pleasure but guilded brass, which corrodes in the hand, and is soon converted into poisonous verdigris. Happiness is as the genuine diamond, which, rough or polished, shines with its own inimitable luster, pleasure is as the paste imitation that glows only when artificially embellished. Happiness is as the ruby, red as the heart’s blood, hard and enduring; pleasure, as stained glass, soft, brittle, and of but transitory beauty.”
“Happiness is true food, wholesome, nutritious and sweet; it builds up the body and generates energy for action, physical, mental, and spiritual; pleasure is but a deceiving stimulant which, like spirituous drink, makes one think he is strong when in reality enfeebled; makes him fancy he is well when in fact stricken with deadly malady.”
“Happiness leaves no bad after-taste, it is followed by no depressing reaction; it calls for no repentance, brings no regret, entails no remorse, pleasure too often makes necessary repentance, contrition and suffering; and if indulged to the extreme, in brings degradation and destruction. “
“True happiness is lived over and over again in memory, always with a renewal of the original good; a moment of unholy pleasure may leave a barbed sting, which like a thorn in the flesh, is an everpresent source of anguish.”
“Happiness is not akin with levity, nor is it one with light-minded mirth. It springs from the deeper fountains of the soul, and is not infrequently accompanied by tears. Have you never been so happy that you have had to weep? I have.” James E. Talmage, Improvement Era, vol 17, no. 2, pp 172-73

We're Home

Well, everything was "peachy-keen," so mom and baby came home yesterday afternoon. Several people have asked about coming over to visit, and we'd love to see you! Just give us a call and let us know when you want to come--I'll be home all week entertaining Aleia and helping out while Dixie works her motherly magic on Macie, so come on over!

Aleia is a wonderful sister, and she loves helping Macie find the binky! Ironic, because Aleia never took a binky or a bottle, she always gagged on them and wanted nothing to do with them!

Anyway, the pictures below include some photos at the hospital right before coming home, Macie's first car ride, and some photos at home.

Baby Macie Pictures!

Okay...here are a couple of pictures; we had a couple more, but they need to be censored before I post them... :) As mentioned in the previous post, we'll be sure to post updates and new photos as we have them!

Thanks to everyone for being so helpful and congratulatory!

Baby Macie is Here!!

Hooray! Macie May Downing was born yesterday, July 19, at 7:23pm. She was 7 lbs., 19 inches long, and very healthy! Mom and baby are doing very well, there were no complications, and we are so excited! And...since I know you all want to see the photos...they're coming soon! I'm home for a shower and breakfast break, and I failed to bring home the right equipment to be able to pull the pictures and post them! So...give me another day (maybe sooner) and I'll get the photos posted.

Okay, so now that you read the important stuff, here are the details for those of you that just can't get enough... :)

Dixie had her first contractions very early yesterday morning, at about 1 am. Every once in a while she'd get a long, painful one, but they were kind of scattered. Finally, at around 5 pm, the contractions were more intense and more frequent. We decided to scoot down to the hospital a little while later and arrived at about 6:30. We weren't expecting much...with Aleia, it was about the same story, but when we got to the hospital it was about 7 hours before we had the baby. Not the case this time! Dixie was dilated to 9cm the first time they checked, and it was basically show time! Macie was born 53 minutes after we arrived at the hospital, and as expected, she was gooey, bloody mess! :) But she was a VERY cute gooey, bloody, mess, and we quickly discovered that she and Aleia both suffer from the same pouty lower lip!

I got to "hang out" with Macie while the Doctor and nurses cleaned everything up, and I just can't describe how it feels to look down at a brand new baby, knowing its yours, and look into that sweet, little face! I felt very good about myself when Macie stopped crying after about 10 seconds of some proper attention from Dad...another heart-melting experience. I'm very grateful for my super-tough wife who did all the work while I merely stood by and offered my support! Dixie is doing remarkably well, and I'm very proud of her endurance for the last nine months! I'm also very proud of our adorable new daughter, we're so pleased she's finally here!

Anyway, watch for photos and updates soon...I'll post them as we get them!

Bell has to go Potty

"Bell has to go potty mom"
In a total of 3 unsupervised minutes, the following occurred:
I actually didn't discover it until way later on that night after we came home from Grandma's house and the water had a chance to soak it's way up through the toilet paper. Great. Curious, I asked,
"Bell had to go potty Aleia?"
"uh huh".
"And she had a hard time getting the toilet paper to tear?"
"uh huh."
"I see."

Jump On It

What a party at Jump on It! I'm so glad the Jenne's came into town so we would all have an excuse to get together! It is amazing how much everyone's kids have grown. For those of you that weren't there, we missed you! I'm grateful we can keep in touch by e-mail, facebook and blogs though. Technology is great in that way.

I LOVE AMERICA!

"One nation under God"Matt Aleia and I at the Hot Air baloonsMy cute family
Parade

I love the Fourth of July! I had an incredible day with my awesome family. We did the hot air balloons, free french toast breakfast at Macey's, a parade (that wasn't too hot thanks to cloud cover) and a fun BBQ and fireworks at night at grandma and grandpa Ahlstrom's house. The best part was having Matt's undivided attention the entire day! It was perfect. I love this country. I love the freedom we enjoy, and I love the people to fight to keep it that way (morally and physically). I love America!

Happy 5th Anniversary!

Well, it's been five awesome years (four awesome, one not quite as awesome) since Matt and I sealed ourselves off to each other! And he is still just as romantic now as when we were first dating. And even the year we were apart my life was better than it would have been had I been single. I truly believe there is nothing greater than a marriage where both partners love, respect, and sacrifice daily for each other (and still date and have fun). Matt has taught me so much about myself, and I feel like I've improved as a person just by being around him and watching from his example. He is superb in a lot of the things I lack. Most of all, every day I've been blessed with Matt in my life has been a thousand times cooler. He is so fun, upbeat, positive, smart, attractive, and life is so much more exciting with him in it! I love being married to Matt Downing! There is truly no one more perfect for me. Happy Anniversary!
Here is a glimpse of the most beautiful roses I've ever gotten~ they had these cool lighter red stripes in them. Beautiful. Thanks Matt!

And here's a photo of the day we tied the knot. :o) Man, life is great with him!

Sidewalk Chalk

I forgot all about sidewalk chalk! We were at a local park and Aleia found a little stub of chalk in the grass. So I took her over to a sidewalk to draw. I forgot all about that stuff! So that day, we had to go to the store and get some. I tell ya. $2.00 is an excellent price to pay for hours and hours of fun. (Not to mention beautifully designed sidewalks). What a perfect summer toy for a toddler!

Downing Reunion

We also headed down to Cedar City this past weekend for a Downing Reunion. It was really fun to get away, and meet Matt's extended family. We just spent the time at a park playing games and wading in the river. It was a great place for a reunion! One of my favorite parts was seeing Andrea Thompson (a great friend from highschool and college) down there. All in all, it was an awesome trip, and we are making plans to go watch Uncle Ted coach the San Diego Chargers in December. :o)

PG Strawberry Days

The longest line, but most worth the wait, was a free pony ride!!! Everything was free at the Huck Finn day in the park in Pleasant Grove. We had a lot of fun there with our cousins and Grandma. Aleia got a strawberry painted on her face by a princess, and she even got to go to grandma's house afterwords for lunch. I love summer!

Blasted Computer

So, I officially destroyed our computer by downloading a virus. Whoops. Therefore, we had to do some upgrading. Matt's been working hard on the computer trying to troubleshoot it and get it working again. After a lot of sleepless nights, we decided to upgrade, and you see here that the parts had all just arrived. The only problem was, we had a split second power outage in the middle of the installation process and the motherboard died. So now we are in the process of switching it out for a different one and hopefully soon will have a completely functioning computer. Yea! I am really grateful that Matt is capable of fixing my many computer mistakes. He really is a genuius. Jack of all trades, master of quite a few of them! Thanks Matt!

Orem Summerfest

We took some time this weekend and headed out to the Summerfest. It was a lot of fun for me. I love being where the party is. :o) Aleia loved the horse, Matt enjoyed finding a liquid nitrogen ice cream stand, and I just loved getting out. Hooray for summer! It was fun to meet up with Jamie for the parade on Saturday while Matt was helping out my parents with a painting project. Aleia was mesmorised by the parade. It was a perfect night for it too. I love summer!

Check out my Slide Show!

Thanksgiving Point in June

Photobucket Album

Stake Presidency BBQ

We were lucky to attend the BBQ with the Stake Presidency Matt has been privledged to work with this past year. Matt and I are now attending a different stake, and he has been released, but they let us come back for one last BBQ. These are some of the people Matt has had the privledge of working with. We sure have a lot of respect for each of them! And they had a really fun backyard!

Cabella's

Aleia and I randomly decided to check out Cabella's today. Never been there before, but I've heard they have lots of animals. Usually anything with animals is a hit for Aleia, and it's been a bit rainy today. So indoors was good! We actually had a lot of fun there!

Princesses and Horses

Aleia has been very into princesses (since Disneyland) and horses. This is a picture of the four of them together! And some real horses she's gotten to ride at Thanksgiving Point. If you ever wanted to know, Aleia got to ride on the BIG horse! She'll be happy to tell you- over and over and over...